Pages

Annapurna Circuit - March 2012

Christine has wanted to walk the Annapurna Circuit ever since we made our first trip to Nepal about 9 years ago. It's the trek that the guides usually offer up as their favorite and with all the talk of the route being spoilt by a road we thought it would be best to try and enjoy it before it was too late. The plan involved both of us joining a group for the three week trip, with me joining another group at the end to walk up Mera Peak. Six weeks in Nepal should be a doddle after six months walking across Europe.

Annapurna Circuit

The Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp are by far and away the most popular treks in Nepal and I suspect that, if anything, Annapurna is the more popular of the two. Although it doesn't have the same iconic destination it's more accessible. The usual benefit quoted for the Annapurna Circuit is that you start relatively low and gradually work your way up through different climate zones, experience rural Nepal on the way, and have time to acclimatise for the Thorang La pass which, at 5416 metres, is the highest point on the route.

Typical room in a tea house

Tea House at Jagat

Like the Everest Base Camp trip, accommodation is provided in "tea houses". Tea houses are a sort of rural guest house but developed specifically for trekkers. Although accommodation is getting better all the time, tea houses are still fairly primitive. They provide an unheated room, usually with a couple of thin mattresses, and increasingly (if you’re lucky) some sort of ensuite toilet. All the tea houses serve food and have a very similar menu. The food is cheap and wholesome, although not particularly tasty.

Our Leader

Whenever we go to Nepal we go with a travel company, nearly always the British company Exodus. We have always had good trips with them and have got used to the way they do business. Having had a bad experience on one of our trips (with KE), who used a British tour leader, we particularly like the fact that Exodus use Nepalese guides for nearly alltheir trips. The Nepalese trekking industry is perhaps the most developed in the world. They have excellent highly experienced people and crucially, unlike their British equivalents, the Nepalese guides speak Nepalese as well as English.

You don't have to go with a travel company and lots of people self organise, book direct with the Nepalese from home or find a guide and a porter on arrival in Kathmandu. A small minority of people even do it without a guide although of course you will still need the required permits to travel the trails. Carrying your own stuff is a tough option - given the range of temperature you are likely to experience you need more gear than in Europe and the altitude makes carrying loads hard work - but a few still adopt this approach.

Porters on the move

Personally I enjoy walking with a group in Nepal and although some groups are more fun than others we have always got on with the people we’re with. A group, supported by guides and porters, is also part of the Nepalese approach to "expedition" trekking. The Nepalese trekking model was developed by Lt Col James Roberts, an officer with the Gurkhas who cut his teeth climbing and then supporting trips to some of the world's highest mountains. This included Sir Chris Bonington's first Himalayan summit in 1960 (Annapurna 2) and the logistics for the brilliant American Everest expedition which made the first ever traverse of the world's highest summit three years later. Roberts established the world's first professional trekking company, Adventure Travel, in 1964. The model is now used by every adventure travel company in the world and has been hugely influential in the way trips like these are managed.

On a route like the Annapurna Circuit you also meet a much bigger fraternity of trekkers which I must admit I get a lot of pleasure from. It's incredibly international with French, Spanish, Russian, Indian, Japanese, Korean, US, Canadians and others. Because you are all engaged in essentially the same activity everyone has a lot in common and conversation on the trail and in the tea houses comes easy. Not only is everyone doing the same thing but they are generally following the same itinerary, so you may see some day after day and often share the same adventures.

It's also the case that the band of trekkers - pushing its way around the trail –lives in a distinct and separate world from the rest of Nepal. Nepal is so poor that a parallel universe for the trekker has been constructed; a world where the trekker eats, drinks and sleeps and which, by and large, is not used by the Nepalese. This includes the hotels and restaurants in Kathmandu and Pokhara, the transport that takes the trekkers to the start and finish of treks, and the tea houses on the treks themselves. The tea houses may be primitive but if it wasn't for the trekkers they wouldn't be there.

Perhaps the best example of this is the food you eat. In the tea houses you can now get all sorts of food and increasingly you can get meat, particularly yak and chicken. Nepalese however don't, generally speaking don't eat any of it. The food you get in Nepal is therefore a Nepalese stab at what it is they think foreigners like, a stab not really informed at all by their own tastes. My favourite factual nugget is that 22 of Nepal’s 24 million population eat Dhal Bat, essentially vegetable curry with a lentil sauce and rice, twice a day, 365 days a year.

Dhaulagiri

So you are in a special world, a trekker's world, but at least on the Annapurna Circuit this is a stunningly beautiful world. I have started low and worked my way up before - particularly on a trip to Kanchenjunga Base Camp - and in these cases the scenic fireworks take some time to explode. This isn't the case on the Annapurna and after 2/3 days you are treated to amazing scenery. You start with Manaslu, (an 8,000 plus metre peak), then Langtang Himal, Annapurna II and IV, Annapurna III and Gangapurna and of course two more 8,000 metre peaks with Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri. The scenery is also varied - it includes the deep valleys cut by fast flowing rivers, the huge glaciated valleys slightly higher up and, on the western side, a huge flat bottomed, gravel filled and wind blasted gorge that sits between Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri and is claimed to be the deepest in the world. Finally, at Poon Hill (other viewing points are available apparently) you get to see the whole lot - from Manaslu to Dhaulagiri, huge bookends to the Annapurna's including South Annapurna and the legendary Macchupucchre, the Fishtail Mountain.

The trek I went involved 17 days of walking. After a bus journey from Kathmandu to Besisahar we walked everyday (although one day, at Manang, was an acclimatisation day) all the way round the circuit to Birethanti. We stopped for a night and a day in the lovely town of Pokhara before taking an internal flight back to Kathmandu. Most days we walked for about 5/6 hours although there are two fairly tough days in the overall itinery, the climb over Thorang La and towards the end the climb up to Ghorepani.

Descending from Thorang La

Personally I didn't find the walking too difficult although this was not the case for everyone in the group.

Its very tempting to recycle existing gear on a trip like this but you should be careful. For example my thermal running leggings were not up to the job and several other people suffered from sub-standard sleeping bags and gloves and generally clothes without enough warmth in them. Although the dining area for the tea huts tended to be heated as you got higher up, and supplementary blankets were often provided, its surprising how often you found yourself sitting around in a freezing cold hut waiting for a fire to be lit.

Based on my experience you shouldn't count on a settled weather in Nepal. In March this year it felt like at best early spring but others would call it late winter. Apart from the rhododendrons and the magnolia there is was little colour in the vegetation, and we got fresh snow crossing the Thorang La. We had some amazing weather on the north side of the route, in the traditionally drier valley near Manang, but it was cloudy higher up. It's supposed to be warmer in the spring than in the peak walking season in the autumn, but at altitude it still felt cold to me.

On the new road

What about the road, and is it really spoiling what is supposed to be one of the best treks in the world?Well it might be, but hopefully the Nepalese will get a grip of the situation and it won't. What is really changing the trek is not the road as such but the number of trekkers. The volume of trekkers is causing the growth in the number of tea houses - the limitations of the existing trail makes it hard to support these tea houses with mule trains and porters. With the cost of building roadscoming down as JCBs arrive, a new road is inevitable. If the old trail, itself a fabulous ancient trail, can be preserved for trekkers alongside the new road - itself a rough dirt track - than it might not be a disaster.

The Group (almost!)

So after a week at home, three weeks after I finished the trip and with Mera Peak in between, what do I now think about the trip?Well I enjoyed it enormously, was never bored, although just occasionally just a but disappointed with the weather. The scenery was amazing. One thing which is just a bit unfortunate is that Thorang La, the high pass, hits you just past half way around the trail, and you have a long way to go after this - you don't have the triumphal return from the ‘summit’ you get from some other trips. The group was also great fun, lots of interesting characters, 10 is a particularly good number and the mix of age and gender also helped. Lots of people cracking jokes.

I think I also understand why the guides love the Annapurna Circuit. Not only is it a great walk, from a guides point of view it's both relatively easy and good fun.

What I would say, and I think Christine feels the same, is that the Annapurna Circuit, increasingly accessible to more and more people, is perhaps no longer quite the "adventure trip" we had perhaps hoped for. We had adventures, particularly crossing Thorang La in the snow, but if you're sharing a trail with hundreds of others it's bound to have an impact. Still there is no need to dispair, there are plenty of other places to go to, some of which are described in terms of "what the Annapurna used to be like" and that's what we will be looking for when we go back to the Himalayas next year.

Annapurna Circuit trekking This trek normally people can do twelve days up to eighteen days which starts from Lamjung District where drive from Kathmandu to Besisahar by car or by local bus exploring the view through the longest marsyangdi river of Nepal and rewarding trek , providing many opportunity to explore the scenery of both the northern and southern Himalayan scenery . From thick fir and rhododendron forests to the harsh , thin atmosphere of the Tibetan plateau , the ethnic groups encountered , lowland Hindu& Highland Buddhist are the major varied as the landscape . The Annapurna circuit trekking along the marsyangdi river and explore Buddhist monastery (Braga village ) and others .High point of the trek is manang village which offers the best panoramic view of the( Annapurna ii) ,( Annapurna iii) and Ganggapurna , then hiking up to Thorung pass ( 5416m) trek to down Muktinath temple which is most famous for Vishnu’s sacred to both Hindu and Buddhist religion and many sadhu gather there. Tropical Kali Ghandaki Gorge , a busy Pilgrimage and trade route controlled by Thakali and mustang tribes This trek will end either by fly jomsom to pokhara or continues trek through the Ghorepani to Nayapul and drive back to Pokhara . http://www.nepalguidetrekking.com/Annapurna-Region/annapurna-circuit-trek.php

Sanjib Adikhari ist recomended 2010 by German trekkers Sabine and Frank from Berlin

Sanjib AdhikariThe ultimate compliment for Sanjib came from fellow trekkers we met along the way who remarked how lucky we were to have a guide so personable, knowledgeable and dedicated to us and our experience. We could not have agreed with them more. *We did a 21 day Annapurna circuit, Annapurna base camp trek and Langtang Valley trek and having never trekked this length before, we were both novices. It is without a doubt, that had our guide been anyone other than Sanjib, we would not have had nearly the rich, authentic and thoroughly enjoyable experience we did. When trekkingwith Sanjib we enjoyed:* honest, knowledgeable and sincere discussions regarding anything from Nepal's history and current politics, local religions and culture history, to geography natural landscape and all Mountains Name* a sensitivity and sensibility to allow a good balance between conversation and respecting an individual or couple’s need for privacy * over 9 years of trekking guide experience* a respect for an individual’s desired pace and physical condition* an intimate knowledge of the best accommodations, tea stops and places of interest along the way, according to our own individual budgetWe would highly recommend any potential trekker in Nepal to enlist the services of Sanjib Adhikari. It is without a doubt that you will be richly rewarded if you do so Trek in Nepal his contact address is: sanjib-adhikari@hotmail.com and his website : www.nepalguideinfo.com facebook :http://www.facebook.com/sanjib.adhikari?ref=ts&fref=ts further pictus t For these reasons I am very glad to report all references of Sanjib

I would highly recommend any potential trekker in Nepal use Sanjib Adhikari. It is without a doubt that you will be richly rewarded if you do so I and my son Cem (16), went to a 10-day trekking trip to the Everest Base Camp between January 27-Feb 6, 2014. Our route was flight from Kathmandu to Lukla-Phakding-Namche (2)-Tengbouche-Dingbouche (2)-Labouche-EBC-Thukla-Namche-Lukla and then flight back to Kathmandu. During the trip of 10 days, which was our fist trekking experience with my son, I must admit that you are witnessing some of the most striking views in the world. The route is rated as "difficult" by many but it was a lot of fun and challenge. I strongly suggest you acclimatize adequately and use "diamox" or equivalents starting with the beginning of your trip. Being at the EBC is phenomenal, but if you would like to have great clear views of the Everest Peak, you may want to try the Kala Pattar base camp as well. I also recommend January-February (and not October-November or April-May), as you have clearer views, less trouble with flights, and most importantly it was not bad with the weather--no snow or storms. After the 10 days of trekking, we spent another day in Kathmandu for sight-seeing.

Mr. Sanjib Adhikari was our trekking guide for this mission. I am very impressed with the professionalism and the friendly attitude by Sanjib. I highly recommend his services.

Treks Himalaya is indoor outdoor trekking and tours Operators takes you that further way to guarantee for Trekking in Nepal that you has an unforgettable Trek in Nepal that you have been dream with Acute trek is part of your choice for Nepal Tours. We have your choose of Nepal Trekking for 3 days to 30 or more days it depending of your timetable, sleep under lodges or tent. We always respect our duty to constantly your Nepal Holidays satisfaction. Whether you are looking for gateway Travel in Nepal, a memorable Hiking in Nepal outing with a family or an exciting nature Tours in Nepal with Acute Trek Pvt. Ltd. We offer you with the best progressive information during your Nepal Travel and itinerary leading focused and modified as per your requirements of Holidays in Nepal. It is significant Treks Himalaya to memorize, though, it necessitate an enough level of physical homework and must remembers that there is also a psychosomatic assurance walking and Trekking in Himalaya. Acute trek is an attempt to encourage Adventure Trekking in Nepal to the exterior world while striving to defend an aged tradition as well as conserve the surroundings for generation to come Tours Trekking in Nepal. We are specialize in organize Nepal travel activities excursion such as:- Trekking, Helicopter Tour, Peak Climbing, Mountain Flight, Honeymoon Tour, Sightseeing, Rafting, Jungle Safari, Pilgrim’s Tour, Hotel Reservation, Air Ticket, Tibet and Bhutan Tour many more your vacation desire.

Treks Himalaya trekking tours Operators takes you that further way to guarantee for Trekking in Nepal that you has an unforgettable Trek in Nepal that you have been dream with Acute trek is part of your choice for Nepal Tours. We have your choose of Nepal Trekking for 3 days to 30 or more days it depending of your timetable, sleep under lodges or tent. We always respect our duty to constantly your Nepal Holidays satisfaction. Whether you are looking for gateway Travel in Nepal, a memorable Hiking in Nepal outing with a family or an exciting nature Tours in Nepal with Acute Trek Pvt. Ltd. We offer you with the best progressive information during your Nepal Travel and itinerary leading focused and modified as per your requirements of Holidays in Nepal. It is significant Treks Himalaya to memorize, though, it necessitate an enough level of physical homework and must remembers that there is also a psychosomatic assurance walking and Trekking in Himalaya. Acute trek is an attempt to encourage Adventure Trekking in Nepal to the exterior world while striving to defend an aged tradition as well as conserve the surroundings for generation to come Tours Trekking in Nepal. We are specialize in organize Nepal travel activities excursion such as:- Trekking, Helicopter Tour, Peak Climbing, Mountain Flight, Honeymoon Tour, Sightseeing, Rafting, Jungle Safari, Pilgrim’s Tour, Hotel Reservation, Air Ticket, Tibet and Bhutan Tour many more your vacation desire.Tours Trekking in Nepal is part of world adventure tourism. Natures to renew one’s own self regard, to relive oneself, to realize Nepal beauty of Treks Himalaya, to interact with its generous, friendly peoples are highlights of Trekking in Nepal and is one long term activity that draws repeat visitors. Acute Trek Pvt. Ltd. an indoor outdoor trekking and tours operative company takes you that further way to guarantee you has an unforgettable adventure that you have been dream with Acute trek is part of your choice. We specialize in organize Nepal travel activities excursion such as:- Trekking, Helicopter Tour, Peak Climbing, Mountain Flight, Honeymoon Tour, Sightseeing, Rafting, Jungle Safari, Pilgrim’s Tour, Hotel Reservation, Air Ticket, Tibet and Bhutan Tour many more your vacation desire. Tours Trekking in Nepal is important of Himalayas on description Nepal of large range of ecological features for Nepal. The country nurtures a variety of flora and scenery. Addition to natural atmosphere is rich Himalayan culture. Many of visitor trek to different part of Nepal every year to experience its rustic charm, nature and culture. Most treks through areas between 1000 to 5185m, though some popular parts reach over 5648 meters. Trekking is not climbing, while the climb of Himalayan peaks and enjoy holiday in Nepal might be an attraction for travelers. Every travelers knows for trekking from all over the words an exciting experience is your holiday attraction in Nepal lies in its spectacular beauty and its excellent culture.

Trekking in Nepal is the best way to explore snow covered mountains. We are local trekking agency in Nepal offers you tours, treking, peak climbing, mountain expedition, jungle safari, hotel booking, flight ticketing and more adventure activities in Nepal on best price including our standard services.

Alpine Eco Trek offers travel holidays to both corporate and leisure travelers that encourages understanding, appreciation and conservation of the cultures and environments we visit. We conduct all our tours and treks in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. We are committed to working with our clients and the people of our host destinations to ensure direct economic benefits at a community level, and to contribute to cultural and environmental conservation. With the on-going monitoring of our operations, we aim to exceed best practice guidelines, as we strive to meet international industry levels of responsible travel operations.Contact Ram Kumar at alpineecotrek@gmail.com Alpine Eco Trek & Expedition (P.) Ltd. Thamel Marg 29, Block no. 767/12, Thamel,Kathmandu, NepalGPO Box: 19844, Kathmandu, Nepal.Phones: + 977 -1-44 20 187 or 40 27 424Fax: +977-1-40 27 424Mobile: +977 9851036844 (24 hours)E-mails:info@alpineecotrek.com alpine.ecotrek@gmail.com tibettour@hotmail.com Web Sites:www.alpineecotrek.comwww.tibettourtrek.com

I trekked to Tengboche Monastery from Jiri with Nepal Planet Treks and expedition flying back from Lukla. I've done this several times before as a trek leader but this time it was a private trip and it was one of the best yet. Our guide Sanjib was first rate and had an excellent command of English and out porters Chandra and Hari Kumar were also extremely good. Accommodation in the lodges was of a generally high standard and some, especially The Nest in Namche and the Numbur Hotel in Lukla were outstanding. I can also warmly recommend the Nepalaya Hotel in Kathmandu, a real home from home. Well done NJ I would be happy to travel with your outfit again